1. Field of the Invention
This invention is in the field of dental implants and methods and kits to assist the dental implant process.
2. Description of the Related Art
Dental implants have become popular in recent years as a way to provide permanent artificial teeth to patients who have lost their original teeth and teeth roots. The basic concept is fairly simple. The dentist drills into the patient's jaw bone and implants an artificial tooth root, often made of titanium or other strong biocompatible material, which essentially resembles a small threaded screw. Natural bone, by a process called osseointegration, then fuses with this screw like artificial root. An artificial crown can then in turn be screwed into the artificial root, and to all intents and purposes, the dental implant then performs like a natural tooth.
If an adequate amount of natural bone remains after the extraction of the natural tooth root, then the implant process can commence soon after tooth extraction. However if, as is often the case, an inadequate amount of natural bone remains in the tooth socket after extraction of the natural root, the empty tooth socket may have to be first filled with artificial bone material. Over the course of a few months, the artificial bone filled empty socket will gradually fill in with new natural bone. The implant can then be drilled into this new natural bone.
In practice, installing implants is both complex and risky because there is little tolerance for error in the drilling step. The various bones of the jaw are often both very thin, and placed against other important structures. For example the bones of the upper jaw border on the delicate open sinus structures, and accidentally drilling into the sinus region is of course very bad. The bones of the lower jaw are also tricky to work with. In addition to the risk of the drill bit accidently extending outside the lower jaw bone, there are also various lower jaw structures, such nerve canals, blood vessels, and the like, where accidental drilling can cause substantial permanent damage to the patient.
As a result, general dentists who may be otherwise comfortable with other parts of the implant process, such as tooth extraction, filling up tooth sockets with artificial bone, and installing artificial crowns into previously installed implant roots, are often reluctant to do implant drilling. Instead, after tooth extraction, they will either fail to recommend an implant at all (and instead recommend a dental bridge), or alternatively send the patient to a specialist such as an oral surgeon or periodontist who will in turn do the drilling and implant.
Unfortunately, the general dentist is in a difficult conflict of interest situation here. This is because as a result of the implant referral, the general dentist will lose out on the subsequent implant revenue from that patient. Thus at present, implants, although they may give superior results, tend to be a bit underused.
Even oral surgeons and periodontists need specialized help to safely guide drilling, however. Here, to guide drilling, the present practice is to use computerized tomography and 3D materials fabrication technology (e.g. computer controlled steriolithography, CNC machining, and the like) to create a custom implant drilling guide. To do this, 3D image information on the structure of the patient's jaw, is used to determine the optimum drilling angle, and the computer controlled fabrication technology is then use to create a custom drilling guide. Such computerized tomography devices and 3D fabrication methods are very expensive, and as a result, implant guides alone can often cost around $1000 or more.
As another alternative, the dentist, oral surgeon, or peridontist can attempt to drill guided only by professional judgment and standard dental X-rays, and assume the risk of problems and complications that may result. However this is not a risk that most general dentists, or their insurance providers, usually wish to assume.
Alternative approaches include Tang, U.S. Pat. No. 7,097,451, who teaches a thermoplastic surgical template and method for performing dental implant osteotomies. Unfortunately Tang fails to suggest how such a template may be oriented properly with respect to critical structures in the patient's jaw.
As a result, there is a strong disconnect between the process of tooth extraction and the beginning of the implant process. Implants cross the discipline barriers between general dentistry and oral surgery/periodontry. This disconnect adds a substantial amount of expense to the dental implant process, and often results in patients being encouraged to adopt less optimal solutions, such as dental bridges.